Compared to more traditional domains, gTLDs are cost effective, great for branding and in many cases easy to remember. These are just a few of the advantages that gTLDs have over domains. What are the disadvantages? A myth that has persisted for quite a while the gTLDs are not indexed in search engines the same way more traditional domains are, but Google recently came out saying that this just isn’t true. Whether you’ve go a .com or a .lol, Google will treat them the same when it comes to search results. Unfortunately, this means that your keyworded gTLD won’t necessarily bump your site up in search results. So how do you get an advantage in search engine optimization over those .com websites? Apply traditional SEO skills to your website.

Here are a just a few:

Content

Keywords are probably the biggest factor when it comes to search engine optimization. When someone types a search string into Google, you want your website to come as close to possible to matching that string in your content. How do you do this? With the right content and lots of it. Say your website is promoting your domain portfolio of gTLDs. Try to think of the common questions people have about gTLDs (ones you probably had at one point!) and answer them on your website. Have sections on your website like “What do gTLDs cost” or “How do gTLDs differ from ccTLDs?” answer these questions thoroughly and with keywords like domain and TLD repeating in the content wherever possible and logical. No matter your industry, keep your content relevant to your keywords in your business.

Referrals

Referrals means websites linking to your website. Search engines believe when a website is linked to by other sources, this makes that original site more legitimate and worthy of being high in search results. This can be accomplished by offering guest blog posts to other in return for a link from your website to theirs. It can also be helped by posting your content and social media. These social links to your site help to boost your SEO.

Quality

The quality of the content on your website is very important to SEO. Using the right keywords all over your site is great, but is your site delivering when people visit? Keywords will only get you so far if your site is hard to navigate and doesn’t offer the answers it promises. Make sure your content is well written, spell-checked and necessary to your website and your business.

Mobile

One factor that is relatively new to search engine optimization is the ability for a site to be accessed on mobile device. Many website builders offer the option of creating a mobile friendly site and it’s important that you use it. Not only does this increase yoursearch engine optimization, but it insures you don’t lose customers who try to access your site from a mobile device. Unsure if your site is mobile friendly? Grab your phone and visit your site, if you can fully access your site with ease, you’re good to go. If you’re scrolling and struggling to get to the navigation menu, you’ve got work to do.

While .com and gTLDs are treated the same in search, there are many SEO tactics you can use to ensure your gTLD website keeps bumping up to the top of search results. Consider using a few of these tactics or all of them to get your site found quickly.

The call to action button is a major part of your website. If you had to choose one thing to keep on your website and get rid of everything else, the call to action button would be that one thing. Why? Because the call to action button is those whole purpose of your website. It’s the reason you work to drive traffic to your site. Read on to learn more.

What It Is

The call to action button is a button, link or linked image that asks people to perform an action that benefits your business. For example, in an online store, the call to action button may be “shop.” For an affiliate marketer, the call to action button may be “sign up” or “learn more.” For a political campaign, the call to action may be “join us” or “sign up to learn more.” These are all examples of the first action in a pipeline that gets your potential customer, downline member or volunteer to complete a transaction with you. The call to action isn’t usually the final step, but more like the beginning of the relationship with a customer.

Why You Need It

Website traffic is great, but unless you’re using ads and have tons of traffic, visitors to your website won’t get you much. You need a call to action button to get your visitors to take the next step. You need the button to turn your visitors from being anonymous people visiting your website to being leads and potential customers. The call to action button takes the guess work out of your business, you will find out who is visiting your site and how you can serve them and your new leads can learn more about your directly.

How to Use It

Because it’s so important to your business, your call to action button should be prominent on the main page of your website. It doesn’t need to be so prominent that it’s distracting, but be sure to place it in a place on your website that it can be seen without any scrolling. Also check out where the button appears when our visit your website on a mobile device to make sure it still can be seen. Depending on what you call to action is, you will then use it in different ways. If you use a simple “sign up to learn more” you can share information by email with that sign up. If you choose “sign up for our newsletter” you need to email that person to confirm that they would like to receive emails from you. If you use a service like GDI, look in your missed sign up emails to see who may have clicked the call to action button but not completed the signup process. The call to action is very important, but follow up is what makes it all work.

Every website needs a call to action button, no matter its purpose. The first step toward a new customer includes the call to action button, so make sure it’s on your site!

Working in affiliate marketing, it may be rare that you see your customers, clients, or team members face to face. Connections can be harder to establish and harder to keep when your customers are far away. While this can be daunting for some businesses, affiliate marketing can still thrive even if you’re not meeting with people in-person. Here are tips to manage and leverage long distance communications for affiliate marketing success.

Frequent Communication

Frequent communication is an important way to nurture business relationships from far away. Thanks to all the options available for instant communication these days, frequent communication doesn’t have to be a scheduled phone call. Consider reaching out with weekly personalized emails. Schedule a monthly conference call with your team using free conference call services. Depending on your relationship, texting may also be a good option to stay connected with some of your clients and team members. Also consider a Facebook or LinkedIn group to connect with many people at once. Well-timed posting on these social media sites and groups lets your customers and team members know you’re there for them and engaged with the business.

On-Call Availability

Communication is a two way street and that means that you won’t always be the one putting out messaging, sometimes your client needs to talk to you. A good way to make sure you’re available for your client is to set up on-call hours. These are blocks of time where you will be near your phone and available to take a call from clients or customers about anything. These on-call hours ensure you can give your client or customer the time they need and promises to them that you’ll be there. You can offer these hours once a week, or daily, but do try to offer them more frequently than once a month.

Video

Video is a powerful way to build connections when you can be in the same place as someone. Consider using video from the start of your interaction with a new customer. Do this by creating videos that share more about your product or offer tutorials on how to use it. Once you’ve established a relationship, consider video chatting tools like FaceTime or Google Hangouts. These can easily replace phone calls and allow for a more authentic feel for interactions. This can also be helpful to show a client or customer how to use a product in real time.

Strong Product

A strong product always makes building connections that much easier. If you sell a strong product or rely on it for referrals, people will have a great sense of trust in you right away. This also means your interactions are usually positive as opposed to negative phone calls complaining about the product. Choose the right company with the right offerings to ensure a strong product helps you build a strong relationship.